Recent articles

Assessing The Awareness And Prevalence Level Of Obesity Among Adolescents And Adults In Ajara– Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Abstract:

This project focused on the awareness and
prevalence level of obesity among adolescent and adults in Ajara community,
Badagry local government area of Lagos State Nigeria. The project was carried
out employing a simple survey method and random sampling technique as sampling
and data collection tools. Height and weight of study participants were
measured to calculate their Body Mass Index (BMI). The World Health
Organization (WHO) classification of obesity using BMI was then used to
determine the obesity status. A simple pre tested questionnaire was also used
to collate information on the awareness of obesity from the respondent. The
result shows that about one tenth (13.5%) of the study population were obese,
more than half (53.9%) were aware that obesity can lead to death however
majorities (90.8%) have not done any test to check their obesity status. The
prevalence level (13.5%) from this study is in agreement with the 12%
prevalence rate reported by Nkwoka I.J, Egua M.O, et al (2014) as well as
within the range of 8.1% - 22.2% defined by Chukwuonye I.I, ChukuA.et al in
2013.

Keywords:
Obesity, Prevalence, Nigeria.

Assessing The Awareness And Prevalence Level Of Obesity Among Adolescents And Adults In Ajara– Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Abstract:

BACKGROUND:Hypertension is an important risk
factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and has become a major global burden on
public health .Obesity and weight gain has been reported in previous studies as
the most important determinants of hypertension. Close link between obesity and
hypertension forms part of a broader relationship between body weight and blood
pressure (BP) among others.

OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY: This call for a study to a
analyse the anthropometric risk factor profile correlates of blood pressure
(BP) levels in a representative sample of market women in Juaben.

MATERIALS
AND METHODS: The study was carried out using
questionnaire as well as direct measurement within the period of March/April, 2015.

RESULTS:
The study recorded high levels of
prevalence of all the selected anthropometric risk factor profiles of high
blood pressure (hypertension). A prevalence rate of 74% was noted for obesity.
Among other variables, the following prevalence rates were recorded: 85.1%
for excess WHR, 56% for excess abdominal
circumference/girth, 84% for sum of various classes of hypertension for
systolic and 48% for diastolic. An
analysis of correlations of anthropometric profiles of height and BMI on systolic blood pressure were significantly
correlated respectively (r=.417 and r=.366, p-value at 0.01). Contrary to this, statistically insignificant
correlations were observed on both systolic and diastolic blood
pressures respectively for weight r=.140
and r=.183; waist circumference r=.152 and r=.096; hip circumference r=.244 and r=.105; abdominal circumference/girth r= .082 and r=-.042; heart rate r=.187 and r=.141, p-value at 0.01).
Among anthropometric variables, waist to hip ratio showed statistically insignificant correlation on BMI
(r=.083, p-value at 0.01)
whereas weight r=.792; height r= -.405; waist circumference r=.469; abdominal circumference/girth r=.446 were statistically significant on BMI (p-value at 0.01) and hip circumference (r=.371, p-value at 0.05)

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Against this, this study
proposed the following recommendations for consideration; organisation of health talk on weight management practices among market women.
There should be an awareness creation
on hypertension prevention as well as increased advocacy on vegetable and
fruits intake.

[4] Canadian Fitness and
Lifestyle Research Institute (1998). Physical Inactivity Crisis Of Children And
Youth Continues to Worsen. February 2, 1998.

[5] Center for Disease Control
and Prevention (2001). Increasing Physical Activity: A Report on
Recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Morbidity
And Mortality Weekly Report 50:1-16

A Study Of The Predisposing Factors To Vesico-Vaginal Fistula In Women Of Ebonyi Local Government Area Of Ebonyi State

Abstract:

Vesico-vaginal fistula is an
abnormal hole between the urinary bladder and the vagina leading to involuntary
discharge of urine into the vagina. Vesico-vaginal fistula still remains one of
the main morbidities of childbirth in developing world and Ebonyi Local
Government Area of Ebonyi State is a typical example.

The study was aimed at
identifying those predisposing factors to VVF in women of Ebonyi local
government area of Ebonyi State. It is a cross-sectional descriptive community
based study and a total of 386 women of child bearing age were assessed using
interviewer administered questionnaires.

The study revealed that 80% (309)
of the studied population were aware of VVF. The study also revealed that the
predisposing factors to VVF were influenced by one’s level of education and
employment status as both variables were statistically significant. Level of
education and employment status were directly proportional to one’s knowledge
and inversely proportional to those predisposing factors to the development of
VVF.

In conclusion, major breakthrough
is still needed in order to get the women of Ebonyi Local Government Area of
Ebonyi State to actually know about VVF and those predisposing factors for the
development of VVF. To decrease those predisposing factors that can lead to
VVF; the study suggested advocacy, health education, economic empowerment of
women, girl child education and improving the socio-economic status of women as
tools to bringing the desired change.

A Study Of The Predisposing Factors To Vesico-Vaginal Fistula In Women Of Ebonyi Local Government Area Of Ebonyi State

Diarrhoea In The Under-Fives: Constraints Encountered By Care Providers In Its Management

Abstract:

Diarrhoea continues to be one of the major causes of
dehydration in the under-five population especially in the developing
countries; resulting in high infant mortality rate, particularly in sub-Saharan
Africa. Diarrhoea resulting to dehydration kills more children under five years
of age than malaria, AIDS, measles and tuberculosis. It is actually the second
leading cause of death in children under five in the world and responsible for
1.9 million deaths per year, following pneumonia, which kills 2 million per
year. As such deaths via diarrhea represent 17% of deaths among children
under-five; out of a total of 11 million deaths annually. This mostly results
from the consumption of contaminated food and drinking of water from doubted
sources. World-wide, around 1 billion people lack access to improve water and
2.5 billion have no access to basic sanitation. The objectives of the study
were:

üTo assess the
knowledge of care providers in identifying cases with dehydration in the
under-fives.

üTo assess their
practices toward the adequate management of dehydration in the under-fives.

üTo find out
the difficulties encountered in its proper management.

üTo propose
practical solutions in order to curb its occurrence.

A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed, in
which primary data was collected from a sample in the study population in order
to collect baseline data to be a representative of the study population during
the study period, in order to assess the knowledge of care providers of Mankon
Medicalized Health Centre and Nkwen Medicalized Health Centre in the assessment
and management of dehydration in the under-fives.

Data was collected from care-providers of both Mankon
and Nkwen Medicalised Health Centres who had served in these health facilities for
at least six months and who are versed with the causes of dehydration in the
under-fives, its clinical manifestations and the adequate implementation of
proper management.

The convenient sampling technique for this study in
which all the eight (8) care providers managing clinical cases in the medical
ward and the twelve (12) care providers managing clinical cases in the
paediatric ward of both Mankon and Nkwen Medicalised Centres were involved in
the study and questionnaire administered to them.

A structured questionnaire was designed to collect
primary data from respondents. This instrument was structured as such to tailor
the specific objectives of the study:

Results show that; out of the 22 respondents, 11 (50%)
were Nursing Assistants (NA), 2.0 (9.09%) were State Enrolled Nurses (SEN),
then 8.0 (36.36%) were State Registered Nurses (SRN) and 1.0 (4.54%) a Bachelor
in Nursing Science degree (BNSc).

Six nurses have worked for between 6-12 months, 7
nurses for between 1-5 years, 3 nurses for between 5-10 years and 4 nurses for
between 20 years and above. Out of the 22 Care–providers, 13 (59.09%) suggested
that dehydration is excessive loss of fluid from the body, while 9.0 (40.90%)
of the respondents thought that dehydration is loss of body fluids and electrolytes.
However, all the 22 respondents presented similar causes and clinical pictures
and state that dehydration is classified into 3 types in terms of severity.

All the 22 respondents identified 3 types of
dehydration and offered specific solutions as to each of them. They equally
attribute specific length of time required to manage each type of dehydration.
The 22 participations also thought that to properly manage this condition,
appropriate tools (urinary bag or any calibrated bowl) should be used to
estimate the amount of fluid lost.

On the clinical manifestations of dehydration, 49
responses were gotten as follows, 11 (23.40%) could not distinguish signs and
symptoms as to mild, moderate and severe dehydration, 12 (25.53%) stated
difficulties as regard to management approaches, while 24 (51.06%) related
their difficulties to mother’s compliancy.

All the respondents suggested similar causes and
clinical pictures and classified it into three types. All of them above implies
that with the knowledge on dehydration, nursing staff can easily reverse this
condition with less fatality using specific management approach corresponding
to the degree of dehydration, and prevent complications.

Health advice offered to mothers by nurses on the
management approaches at home fall under four items viz: O.R.S., water and
fluid, nutrition and hygiene. 18 (33.96%) provided health talks on hygiene. If
faeco-oral infections should be avoided, hygienic measures must be implemented,
14 (26.41%) nurses advocated on the use of O.R.S which should be taken at home.

The Acquisition and Proper Usage Of LLINs As A Primary Preventive Measure Against Malaria In The Batibo Health Area In North West Cameroon

Abstract:

Each year, there is an estimated 220 million deaths
caused by malaria leading to approximately one million deaths mostly among
children under five years of age. There is a growing international agreement to
use prevention and treatments methods that are available against malaria. The
most effective method include; the use of mosquito bed nets treated with long
lasting insecticide (LLINs) to avoid mosquito and to kill mosquito and spraying
the inside wall of the houses with similar to kill malaria carrying mosquitoes.
In 2013 an estimated 136million LLINs were delivered in endemic countries, a
major increase over the 70million bed nets were funded for delivery in 2014 and
suggesting an even stronger pipeline for 2015. Population access to LLINs
remain below the target universal coverage and has not appreciably improved.

Malaria being a fatal disease is becoming difficult to
prevent and control because of the habit of increasing resistance to the
insecticides of the female anopheles mosquito.

In Cameroon, malaria remains a public health problem
and responsible for 31% of consultations and 44% of hospitalization in health
facilities. It is responsible for 18% of deaths occurring in Cameron .In children
less than 5 years 31% of deaths are due to malaria.

The use of LLINs in Cameroon is still a problem, that
is why in world malaria days from 2013-2015 the theme has been “invest in the
future, defeat malaria to call attention to the effort to finish the job this
2015 calling for high level commitment to the vision of a world free of
malaria”.

The general objective was to find out the factors
affecting the acquisition and proper usage of LLINs as a primary preventive
measure against malaria and to propose possible solutions to identified
problems.

The specific objectives of the study were:

1.To assess the
community’s knowledge on malaria prevention.

2.To assess
their practical measures used in preventing malaria through the use of LLINs.

3.To find out
the proportion of the community with LLINs properly installed and utilized.

4.To ascertain
the constraints encountered by the community in its proper usage and propose
possible solution to any identified problems.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was employed in
which data was collected on the acquisition and proper use of LLINs in the
Batibo health area.

The study population constituted of the inhabitants of
Batibo health area community.

A sample of 100 respondents were randomly selected
using the systematic random sampling method to represent the entire population
of Batibo Health Area). Results show that on thedistribution of respondents relative to whether they have LLINs;
it was observed that out of the 100 respondents 62% had LLINs while 38% did not
have, 12 (19.35%) of the respondents said they have never had LLINs ,
28(45.26%) said LLINs are not enough while 22( 35.48%) said the one they had is
bad. The reason why LLINs may not be enough maybe because of increase in
household members as 46 % of the respondents have more than four members per
household.

It was equally observed that out of the 38 respondents
who had LLINs they were not properly used as only 10(26.5%) said they sleep
under LLIN every night,8(21.0%) said when they feel cold and 20(52.6%)said they
like.

Conversely, out of the 38 respondents who had LLINs
16(42.1%) said everybody in the household sleep under LLINs while 22(57.9%)
said not everybody sleep under LLINs. It was observed that not everybody sleep
under LLINs because 13(34.3%) of the respondents said they were old, 2(5.2%)
said they do not know why and 2(5.2%) said it is because of negligence.

In conclusion, from the results obtained it was found
out that; most people do not use nets because the nets are insufficient and may
be because of increasing number of per household compared to the number of
LLINs given per household. In the community the relationship between mosquito
and malaria well known but many people are not aware of the night-biting female
anopheles mosquito that transmit the malaria parasite may be contributing to
the fact that many people still reluctant to use the net properly as a primary
preventive measure against malaria.

The peripheral level has a great task in the
implementation of the proper use of LLINs and to let the net users understand
that heat production and not breathing well are minor effects to some people at
the beginning of the use of LLIN but after sometime these effects will
disappear.

Community based approach to achieving Universal Access to HIV Testing and Counseling

Abstract:

Introduction:
Achieving universal access to HIV services requires a mixture of strategies to
increase opportunities for people to know their HIV status. APIN in conjunction
with civil society organization and with funding support from Global Fund (GF)
and National Agency for AIDS Control (NACA) embarked on community HTC outreach
campaigns in Lagos, Plateau and Oyo States of Nigeria. Community entry,
advocacy and mobilization were key start up strategies.

Methods/Approach and Result: Partnership
with Civil Society Organizations with strong presence leadership roles within
the communities was the main approach to a community based approach to
increasing uptake of HTC services in the three (3) states of Nigeria where AIDS
Prevention Initiative in Nigeria operated. Eighteen (18) LGAs, 189 communities
and 154 ANC locations across three states benefited from the outreaches.
54,841(1.2% positivity rates) people among the general population and 36,061
(0.19% positivity rates) pregnant women were provided with HCT services over three
weeks.

Conclusion: Alternative
approaches to facility based HTC are critical to achieving universal access to
HTC. Community based approach to HTC that relies on strong partnerships and
collaboration with organizations that have commitments and leadership roles in
the communities can improve uptake of services. It is a veritable approach for
expanding access, availability and coverage of HTC services.

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Forging Partnerships to Eliminate Tuberculosis: A Guide and Toolkit Chapter 3:
What Successful Health-Related Community Partnerships Have in Common http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidestoolkits/forge/pdfs/chpt3.pdf.

[8] National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), 2014a.
Federal Republic of NIGERIA GLOBAL AIDS RESPONSE Country Progress Report.
(Nigeria GARPR) available at
http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/country/documents/NGA_narrative_report_2014.pdf

[9] National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), 2014b.
National HIV/AIDS Prevention Plan (NPP) (2014 - 2015)

[14] UNAIDS (2014) The Gap Report. Available online at http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/UNAIDS_Gap_report_en.pdf

[15] USAID (2014) Promoting High Quality HIV Testing and
Counseling for HIV-Positive Individuals and Linking IT to HIV Care and
Treatmenthttp://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/global-health/hiv-and-aids/technical-areas/promoting-high-quality-hiv-testing-and

Preventing Obesity In Junior High Schools, Its Consequences And Lessons Learnt

Abstract:

Objective:
To evaluate the
factors leading to the prevalence and secular trends for overweight and obese
among the adolescents in junior high schools.

Methods:
A qualitative
study review of literature was conducted on facilitating factors to the prevalence
and secular trends, obesity prevention in junior high schools. Theoretical
sources of information relevant to obesity (idea-based) were used. Primary,
secondary and tertiary sources were used to have a broader overview of obesity.
The general approach was a combination of chronological thematic and conceptual
concepts. A descriptive analysis of the objectives was done

Results:
The obesogenic
prenatal environment or the physical form of our community play a vital role
and that can also promote obesity in young people through epigenic effects

Conclusion:
It was found
that high-fat and energy dense diet has tremendously increased in the 21st
century while most young population have increasingly lead sedentary lives. The
life style of fast foods and little physical activity have increased the
prevalence of obesity among school going children, adolescent and adults too.
The related obesity and chronic disease risk factors have become major public
health concerns. Multilevel model is related to local ecological model on the
principal of preventing obesity. Therefore multilevel is a good model to
prevent obesity in school. The risk regulations–health behaviour–genetic
factors model approach laid a good ground for strategic prevention of obesity
and evaluation of multilevel model practices, food intake, production and
physical activities.

Preventing Obesity In Junior High Schools, Its Consequences And Lessons Learnt

References:

[2] Committee on Food Marketing and
the Diets of Children and Youth, McGinnis JM, Gootman JA, Kraak VI, editors.
Food marketing to children and youth: threat or opportunity? Washington (DC):
National Academies Press; 2006